Belarusian Money Cheaper than Paper

6 октября 2011, 17:36

This year Belarus is experiencing the highest inflation rate for the last 10 years. Economists weekly record a decline of purchasing power of the national currency. Ordinary citizens also can't but notice this when buying food and paying utility bills.

The Belarusians see the money gradually losing its real value. Thus, Telegraf correspondents have calculated that even paper is more expensive today than rubles.

For example, a packet of plain paper of 500 sheets costs Br75 thousand. Thus the price of a paper sheet is Br150. At the same time a standard sheet of A4 paper fits only 9 ten-notes (bills of the smallest denomination). Accordingly, a sheet of plain paper is almost 67% more expensive than a sheet of ten-notes of a similar format.

Belarus is still ahead of the CIS countries and Europe in inflation rate. In August, inflation in Belarus was 8.9%, and 53.6% YTD. However prices rose by another 10.5% during September 1-20.

The ever-increasing inflation rate in Belarus is now added by a record devaluation of the national currency. It exceeded 80% in September. Moreover, according to World Bank data, it has broken a record for the past 20 years.

The ruble devaluation leads not only to higher prices of imported goods in rubles, but also to reduction of the ruble purchasing power. So, after September 14, when the Belarusian Stock Exchange launched an additional session, the Belarusians' average salary has fallen by $135 - from $350 to $215.

Meanwhile, according to an analysis of Belarusian economists, there are now prerequisites for the currency revaluation in Belarus.

"On the contrary, the National Bank is focused on the population's deposits, which, in turn, may trigger a new round of inflationary spiral, we're running along for 14 years already. The Soviet ruble is currently equal to Br14 million rubles," the chairman of the Belarusian Union of Entrepreneurs, Alexander Kalinin.